Now You See Me *1/2

Watching “Now You See Me” I started to wonder why this was such a big hit? How did word of mouth drive it to become one of the biggest sleeper hits of 2013? Were people really coming out and suggesting to their friends and family that they see this? Maybe they were hypnotized by one of the movie’s magicians?

Whats worse is that this cast of amazing actors are forced to spew out mind numbingly stupid dialogue and generally act like as cheesy as possible. Michael Caine, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, and Woody Harrelson should be together in a better film. It is like they are suddenly stuck in a made for TV movie. Did they not read the script?

The plot involves a group of street magicians who are recruited by an unknown organization to stage elaborate heists in the form of magic shows. This naturally gains the attention of the FBI and Interpol as some of the banks being robbed are from countries over seas from where the show is taking place. The results make what the crew in “Ocean’s Eleven” look like amateur hour.

To make matters worse, director Louis Leterrier and his writers, Boaz Yakin and Ed Solomon, don’t seem all that interested in looking in to the mystery and intrigue that surround modern day magicians. Instead we get endlessly lame magic shows as well as action sequences. Yes I said action sequences, complete with fights, flipping cars, and a man who evades FBI capture by flipping cards at them.

I also need to add that the score was relentlessly dull and didn’t seem to stop, especially during the magic shows.

The final twist hit me like a bat to the head. It does not add up in my opinion. It feels like a cop out to me which is fitting for a movie this bad.